Howard Vernon

Howard Vernon (15 July 1908 – 25 July 1996) was a Swiss actor. In the 1960s, he became a favourite actor of Spanish horror director Jesús Franco and began starring in many low-budget horror films produced in Spain or France, often portraying a mad doctor named "Dr. Orloff".[1]

For the Australian actor, see Howard Vernon (Australian actor).
Howard Vernon
Born
Mario Lippert

(1908-07-15)15 July 1908
Baden, Switzerland
Died25 July 1996(1996-07-25) (aged 88)
Paris, France
OccupationActor
Years active1945–1996

Life and career

Vernon was born Mario Lippert in Baden-Baden[2], Germany, to a Swiss father and an American mother, and was fluent in German, English and French. Originally a stage and radio actor, he worked primarily in France and became a well-known supporting actor after 1945 by playing villainous Nazi officers in French films. Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Silence de la mer, in which he played a gentle anti-Nazi German officer, made him somewhat famous, but, in part due to his looks and Swiss accent, he was subsequently relegated to playing gangsters and heavies.

In the 1960s, he became a favorite actor of Spanish horror director Jesús Franco and began starring in many low-budget horror movies produced in Spain or in France, often portraying a mad doctor named "Dr. Orloff". He continued to make increasingly small appearances in high-profile films while often getting top billing in many Grade-Z horror films. Horror fans consider his three greatest horror film roles to be The Awful Dr. Orloff (1961) which introduced Franco's famed mad doctor character, Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971) in which he played Count Dracula and The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein (1972) in which he played the insanely evil Count Cagliostro.

Death

He remained active until his death from natural causes in 1996. He died in Paris, France, 10 days after his 88th birthday.

Selected filmography
  • Boule de Suif (1945) .... Un Prussien (uncredited)
  • Jericho (1946) .... Un officier allemand (uncredited)
  • A Friend Will Come Tonight (1946) .... Robert Langlois, le muet
  • Les clandestins (1946)
  • L'insaisissable Frédéric (1946) .... (uncredited)
  • Night Warning (1946) .... L'aviateur anglais
  • Mr. Orchid (1946) .... Le lieutenant Fleischer, l'officier allemand
  • Devil and the Angel (1946) .... Un Homme de Main de Furet
  • The Royalists (1947) .... Le capitaine Gérard
  • Le Bataillon du ciel (1947) .... Un officier allemand (uncredited)
  • The Die Is Cast (aka "The Chips Are Down") (1947) .... Le chef milicien
  • Le colonel Durand (1948)
  • The Lame Devil (1948, director: Sacha Guitry) .... Lord Palmerston
  • Le Silence de la mer (1949, director: Jean-Pierre Melville) .... Werner von Ebrennac
  • Du Guesclin (1949) .... Lancaster
  • The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949) .... Inspector (uncredited)
  • L'auberge du péché (1949) .... Ducourt
  • Fusillé à l'aube (1950) .... Colonel von Pennwitz
  • The Fighting Pimpernel (1950) .... Comte de Tournai
  • Black Jack (1950) .... Schooner Captain
  • Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951) .... Emile
  • Boîte de nuit (1951) .... Charles
  • Si ça vous chante (1951)
  • The Secret of the Mountain Lake (1952) .... Borgo, der Schmugglerwirt
  • The Girl with the Whip (1952) .... Borgo
  • Manina, the Girl in the Bikini (1952) .... Éric
  • La môme vert-de-gris (1953) .... Rudy Saltierra
  • Monsieur Scrupule, Gangster (1953) .... L'ami de Rolande
  • Little Jacques (1953) .... Daniel Mortal
  • Lucrèce Borgia (1953) .... Le chapelain
  • Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954) .... L'acheteur anglais (uncredited)
  • Opération Tonnerre (1954) .... Roger Kervec
  • The Phantom of the Big Tent (1954) .... Armand LaRue, König der Luft
  • Napoléon (1955) .... Lord Liverpool (uncredited)
  • Pas de souris dans le business (1955) .... Robert Leperque
  • El fugitivo de Amberes (1955, director: Miguel Iglesias) .... Bell Fermer
  • 08/15 in der Heimat (1955) .... CIC-Offizier Ted
  • Alerte aux Canaries (1956) .... Maxime Bellac
  • Bob le Flambeur (1956) .... McKimmie - le commanditaire
  • La melodía misteriosa (1956) .... L'inspecteur de police Revel
  • The River of Three Junks (1957) .... Igor Kourguine
  • Jusqu'au dernier (1957) .... Philippe Dario - le trapéziste
  • Doctor Crippen Lives (1958)
  • Pensione Edelweiss (1959) .... Général Funck
  • Heiße Ware (1959) .... Heinrich Strasser
  • Atomic Agent (1959) .... William Dantoren
  • Muerte al amanecer (1959)
  • Une gueule comme la mienne (1960) .... Howard
  • The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960, director: Fritz Lang) .... No. 12
  • Brandenburg Division (1960) .... Secret Service Man
  • Interpol Against X (1960) .... L'inspecteur Jackson
  • The Secret Ways (1961) .... Colonel Hidas
  • Léon Morin, Priest (1961) .... The colonel
  • Capitaine tempête (1961)
  • First Criminal Brigade (1962) .... Steven Hals
  • The Awful Dr. Orloff / Screams in the Night/ Gritos en la Noche/ L'Horrible Docteur Orloff (1962, director: Jesús Franco) .... Dr. Orloff
  • Zorro the Avenger (1962) .... The General Clarence
  • Han matado a un cadáver (1962) .... Inspector Bernhardt
  • Shades of Zorro (1962) .... El General
  • La mano de un hombre muerto (1962) .... Baron Max von Klaus
  • Vice and Virtue (1963) .... SS General
  • Autopsy of a Criminal (1963) .... Villar
  • Black Angel of the Mississippi (1964) .... Ray Terris
  • The Train (1964, director: John Frankenheimer) .... Dietrich
  • On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts (1964)
  • Alphaville (aka "Une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution") (1965, director: Jean-Luc Godard) .... Prof. Leonard Nosferatu aka von Braun (uncredited)
  • What's New Pussycat? (1965, director: Clive Donner) .... Doctor
  • Train d'enfer (1965, director: Gilles Grangier) .... Le 'professeur'
  • The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966) .... Dr. Pineau
  • The Game Is Over (1966) .... Lawyer
  • The Diabolical Dr. Z / Miss Muerte / Miss Death (1966, director: Jesús Franco) .... Dr. Vicas
  • Le chien fou (1966) .... Fred
  • Triple Cross (1966) .... German Embassy Official
  • Residencia para espías (1966) .... Radek (uncredited)
  • The Unknown Man of Shandigor (1967) .... Yank / Bobby Gun
  • The Night of the Generals (1967) .... Herr Schusslig, Suspect in Erika Müller's Murder (uncredited)
  • Only a Coffin (1967) .... Dam Gaillimh
  • Les têtes brûlées (1967)
  • Necronomicon: Dreamt Sin / Succubus (1967, director: Jesús Franco) .... Admiral Kapp
  • Im Schloß der blutigen Begierde (1968) .... Graf Saxon
  • Mayerling (1968) .... Prince Montenuevo (uncredited)
  • Marquis de Sade's Justine / Deadly Sanctuary (1969, director: Jesús Franco) .... Clément
  • The Bloody Judge / Throne of Fire/ The Witch Killer of Blackmoor (1970, director: Jesús Franco) .... Jack Ketch
  • The Blood Rose / Le Rose Eschorchée / The Flayed Rose (1970, director: Claude Mulot) .... Professeur Römer
  • Orloff and the Invisible Man (1970, director: Pierre Chevalier) .... Le professeur Orloff
  • Love Me Strangely (1971) .... Maître Wasserman - l'administrateur de biens
  • The Devil Came from Akasava (1971, director: Jesús Franco) .... Valet Humphrey
  • X312 - Flug zur Hölle (1971, director: Jesus Franco) .... Pedro
  • She Killed in Ecstasy / Mrs. Hyde (1971, director: Jesús Franco) .... Prof. Jonathan Walker
  • Jungfrauen-Report (1972) .... Medieval de-fliowerer / Anna's Father / The Inquisitor
  • Sex Charade (1972)
  • Casa d'appuntamento (1972) .... Professor Waldemar
  • Dracula vs Frankenstein (1972, director: Jesús Franco) .... Drácula
  • Robinson und seine wilden Sklavinnen (1972) .... Yakube / Actor in Adult Movie / Film Director's Assistant
  • Daughter of Dracula (1972, director: Jesús Franco) .... Count Karlstein / Dracula
  • Les ebranlées (1972) .... Al Pereira
  • The Demons (1973, director: Jesús Franco) .... Lord Malcolm De Winter
  • The Day of the Jackal (1973) .... Cabinet Member (uncredited)
  • The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein / The Curse of Frankenstein / La Maldicion de Frankenstein (1973, director: Jesús Franco) .... Cagliostro
  • Le journal intime d'une nymphomane (1973) .... Doctor
  • Lovers of Devil's Island (1973, director: Jesús Franco) .... Colonel Ford
  • A Virgin Among the Living Dead (1973) / Christina, Princess of Eroticism (1971, director: Jesús Franco) .... Uncle Howard
  • Al otro lado del espejo (1973) .... Howard / Anetta's father
  • Un capitán de quince años (1974) .... Korda
  • Plaisir à trois (1974) .... Mathias
  • Celestine, Maid at Your Service (1974) .... Le duc
  • Lorna the Exorcist (1974, director: Jesús Franco) .... Maurizius
  • La Comtesse Perverse (1974, director: Jesús Franco) .... Count Rador
  • Les gloutonnes (1975) .... Cagliostro
  • That Most Important Thing: Love (1975) .... (voice, uncredited)
  • Les intrigues de Sylvia Couski (1975)
  • Le jardin qui bascule (1975) .... Paul
  • Love and Death (1975, director: Woody Allen) .... General Leveque
  • Change pas de main (1975) .... Jacques des Grieux
  • The Mark of Zorro (1975) .... Gov. Hayes
  • The Musician Killer (1976) .... Anton Varga
  • Seven Women for Satan (1976) .... Karl, Zaroff's servant
  • Le théâtre des matières (1977) .... Hermann
  • Women in Cellblock 9 (1978) .... Dr. Milton
  • Les belles manières (1978) .... Le directeur de la prison
  • From Hell to Victory (1979) .... SS Major Karl
  • Zombie Lake / Le Lac des Morts Vivants / Lake of the Living Dead (1981, director: Jean Rollin) .... The Mayor
  • Docteur Jekyll et les femmes (1981) .... Dr. Lanyon
  • L'appât du gain (1981)
  • Revenge in the House of Usher / Neurosis (1982, director: Jesús Franco) .... René Dimanche
  • Revenge in the House of Usher (1983) .... Eric Usher
  • Sangre en mis zapatos (1983) .... Profesor Albert Von Klaus
  • Mad Mutilator (1983) .... Vampire
  • Le fou du roi (1984) .... Abbé guibourd
  • The Sinister Dr. Orloff (1984, director: Jesús Franco) .... Dr. Orloff
  • All Mixed Up (1985) .... Le docteur Belin - un médecin hémiplégique
  • The Boy Who Had Everything (1985) .... Singing Man
  • Viaje a Bangkok, ataúd incluido (1985) .... Coronel Daniel J. Blimp
  • El hombre que mató a Mengele (1985)
  • Faubourg St Martin (1986) .... Le Clients Grincheux
  • Las tribulaciones de un Buda Bizco (1986)
  • Terminus (1987) .... Monsieur (voice)
  • The Death of Empedocles (1987) .... Hermokrates
  • Commando Mengele (1987) .... Colonel Josef Mengele / Dr. Josef Mengele
  • Dernier été à Tanger (1987) .... Maître Schmidt, un avocat suisse
  • Faceless (Predators of the Night) (1987, director: Jesús Franco) .... Docteur Orloff
  • Howl of the Devil (1987, director: Paul Naschy) .... Eric
  • Black Sin (1989, Short) .... Manes
  • Le champignon des Carpathes (1990) .... Jeremy Fairfax
  • In the Eye of the Snake (1990) .... Old Jean
  • Delicatessen (1991, director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet) .... Frog Man
  • The Girl Who Came Late (1992) .... Dr. Montgomery
  • Faux rapports (1992) .... Garnier
  • Hey Stranger (1994) .... Old officer
  • Le Rocher d'Acapulco (1995) .... Le vieil homme
  • Le complexe de Toulon (1996) .... Charles Toulon
  • Banqueroute (2000) .... Georges (final film role)

References
  1. "Howard Vernon". The New York Times.
  2. "Howard Vernon". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz.
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